Footwear and method of making same



FOOTWEAR AND METHOD OF, MAKING SAME Filed March 9, 1938 26 I 25 27 INVENTOR Pele? cl C0612 gen.

ATTORNEY Patented July 25, 1939 PATENT "OFFICE.

2,167,274: FOOTWEAR. AND METHOD. OFMAKING N ,SAME

Peter, J. Costigan, Waterbury, Conn., assignon to Pliantorlnc Waterbury, Conn, a corporation of Connecticut Application March 9,1938, Serial No. 194,879

-Glaims. (01.12-146) Thisinvention relates to footwear, and more particularly to a shoe of improved construction which will not crease or wrinkle at the vamp when the shoe is flexed.

5 It is well known that when walking with shoes of the ordinary type, the bending of the footv causes wrinkling to occur at the vamp forcing the leather against the foot, resultingin excessive perspiration, which in turn causes tenderness of the flesh and frequent injury to the foot.

By means of the present invention, the above and other disadvantages have been avoided by providing'a shoe having-a loose overlapping connection between the quarter andthe vamp, so

that the quarter will be permitted to slide smoothly over thevamp without causing the dcvelopment of wrinkles or creases in the latter.

One'objectof theinvention is to providea shoe of'the above nature in which the lower edgeof.

thequarter isslidably. interlocked with the upper edge of the vamp, whereby a water-proof and dust-proof seal will be produced at the joint between said quarter and said vamp.

A further object is to provide an improved 25 method for manufacturing the improved shoe described herein.

Another ob-ject is to provide a shoe of the above nature which will be simple in construction, inexpensive to manufacture, neat in appearance at 30 all times, and very efficient and durable in use.

With these and other objects in view there has been illustrated on the accompanying drawing one form in which the invention may be conveniently embodied in practice.

35 In the drawing: I

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a shoe embodying the features of the invention.

Fig. 2 is a side View of the same, partially broken away, and showing in dotted lines the posi- 40 tion of the shoe when the same is flexed while walking.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Figs. 4 and 5 are greatly enlarged sections of 15 the joint between the relatively slidable quarter and vamp sections.

Figs. 6, '7 and 8 illustrate three steps in the method of making the shoe.

Referring now to the drawing wherein like $0 reference characters designate like parts throughout the several views, the numerals l0, II and I2 indicate respectively a quarter ID, a vamp l I, and a toe cap l2 of a shoe of the bal type, said parts being assembled in the usual manner and 5 attached 'to a sole l3 and a heel M, as shown in g. 2.v The central portion of the lower edge. P5 of the quarter It is adapted to loosely overlie the adjacent upper edge I 6. of the vamp H, but the' ends of said quarter are secured tothe ends of the vamp adjacent the sole l3 by stitching, l8. 5 This construction permits the. sections. of the. quarter [0 to slide freely over the vamp. when the, shoe is flexed, as shown in dotted lines.

The quarter I0 is provided. with a lining l9 M which is secured to the quarter ill by rows of T0" stitching substantially parallel tothe lacing eyelets. Provision is also made of a tonguell which issecured to the quarter. ill by stitching, (not shown) extending along the sides.v of' the. lower end of said tongue. Thetwo sides of the. quarter I 0 are adapted to overlie the tongue 21. with a lacing space 22 therebetween, and the in: her. edges of saidsides. are adjustably-connect'ed by the usual lacing 23 whichpassesthrough the eyelets as shown. I e 0 In order to interlock, the .oVerIappingedges-JS and I6 of the quarter and'vamp, respectively, and thereby form a seal for preventing dirt and water from entering the shoe, said edges are reduced in thickness or skived as indicated at 24 and 25, 25 respectively. The skived edges 24 and 25 are then turned backwardly upon themselves (see Figs. 3, 4 and 5) at 26 and 21, and are slidingly interlocked with each other at their central portions.

When the shoe is in its normal unflexed posi- 30 tion, as shown by the full lines in Figs. 1 and 2, the interlocking looped edges of the quarter and vamp are disposed relatively to each other, as shown in Fig. 5. When the user takes a step, the shoe will be flexed to the dotted line position shown in Fig. 2, thereby causing the edge 24 of the quarter to slide forwardly with respect to the edge 25 pf the vamp, as shown in Fig. 4, leaving said vamp smooth and avoiding the formation of Wrinkles thereinthus allowing the shoe to follow the are formed by the foot in walking. This eliminates the occurrence of irritating pressure from being exerted on the forepart of the foot.

Figs. 6, 7 and 8 illustrate three steps in the 4 method of making the improved shoe of this invention. Thus, Fig. 6 shows the assembled relation of the quarter H3 and the vamp H before the shoe is secured to the last for the final lasting process. In order to temporarily secure the 5(} quarter [0 to the vamp I l for preventing possible separation thereof during the lasting operation, the quarter I U is turned backwardly over the vamp H from the position of Fig. 6 to the position shown in Fig. 7, and the overlapping edges 2B and 21 are then secured together by a line of stitches 28.

The quarter II! will then be swung back to the position shown in Fig. 8 and the shoe will be placed upon a last, not shown, for lastingthe quarter being first centered and tacked to said last at the heel portion. After the shoe has been properly lasted, the stitches 28 will be out and the cut threads removed.

One advantage of the present invention is that wrinkles in the vamp section of the shoe are eliminated, thus enhancing the attractiveness of the shoe. Moreover, when the shoe is flexed, the vamp will not press into the foot, and the shoe will wear longer due to the absence of repeated bendings of the leather in the vamp. Also, the exercise of walking with such a shoe will be less tiring, as less energy will be required to flex the shoe than was formerly required when creases were formed in the vamp due to the stiff rigid construction of the shoe.

A further advantage of this invention is that a non-rigid shoe construction is provided which permits the foot to bend freely and the: bones of the arch and ball of the foot to function in a natural manner. In other words, a much greater ball action of the foot is permitted, resulting in more comfort as well as a better appearing shoe.

This invention will be found especially useful in childrens footwear, and shoes for golfing, hiking and. athletics.

While there has been disclosed in this specification one form in which the invention may be embodied, it is to be understood that this form is shown for the purpose of illustration only, and that the invention is not to be limited to the specific disclosure but may be modified and embodied in various other forms without departing from its spirit. In short, the invention includes all the modifications and embodiments coming within the scope of the following claims.

Having thus fully described the invention,

what is claimed as new, and for which it is desired to secure Letters Patent, is:

1. In a shoe, a sole, a. quarter and a vamp secured at their lower edges to said sole, the adjacent upper edges of said quarter and said vamp being overlapped and slidingly interlocked to prevent wrinkling of said vamp when the shoe is flexed and to exclude dust and water from entering the joint between said quarter and vamp.

2. In a shoe, a sole, a quarter and a vamp secured at their lower edges to said sole, the top central portions of said quarter and vamp being overlapped and slidingly interlocked and sealed against dust and moisture.

3. In a shoe, a sole, a quarter and a vamp secured at their lower edges to said sole, the top central portions of said quarter and vamp being overlapped and slidingly interlocked and sealed against dust and moisture, said overlapped edges being turned back upon themselves and hooked together to seal the joint therebetween.

4. The method of making a shoe which comprises the steps of bending the edges of the quarter and vamp backwardly upon themselves, overlapping and interlocking said backwardly bent edges, temporarily stitching said interlocked edges together in overlapping relation, stretching said quarter and vamp on a last, then cutting the stitches between the quarter and the vamp at the adjacent edges, and finally securing said quarter and vamp to the sole of the shoe.

5. In a shoe, a sole, a pair of overlapping upper portions secured to said sole, said upper portions being slidingly connected to permit said shoe to bend and follow the arc of said foot when walking, said overlapped edges being turned back upon themselves and hooked together to seal the joint therebetween to exclude dust and moisture.

PETER J. COSTIGAN. 

